Pocket sylphs tend to grow in sudden fits and starts. When they first hatch several of them will fit into a magi's palm, and by the time they reach their full potential they are almost the size of a fox. Their habits as well as their looks vary with their gender, for the darker-hued females are nocturnal and the snowy males diurnal by preference. Both make a point of being awake during the hours of sunrise and sunset, and together blend their voices into a choir to serenade the dusk and dawn. They mate for life, and are rarely apart once they have chosen a partner; they twine their dual tails together and while one sleeps, adrift mid-air, the other flits about with wing and magic, guarding the sleeping mate and dragging it along on any journeys. Synarans tend to own a pair if possible, and the sight of dark and light fur and feathers draped about the neck like a living scarf is a familiar one around the city. The pocket sylphs seem to enjoy this position, although they are not always careful of where they place their antlers, and many a human has come home with a sore ear.

The sylphs are the triumph of Synaran design. The merchant house which eventually revealed the eggs as their finest product refuse to divulge the source creature that they were bred from, but all agree that the sylphs themselves are masterworks. To help maintain their monopoly, the sylphs are available only during special festival occasions. There are two varieties, each covered in thick, soft fur, and found only in areas where it snows. Both are fond of all types of bells, and spend considerable time imitating the sound of them. They can chirp and shriek as well, but reserve most of their vocal effort for tinkling bells and deep chimes. Sylphs have a magical connection to the wind and can fly from the moment they hatch. Sylph parents anxiously toll out deep bell tones as their offspring's egg begins to crack, and only relax into joyous peels when the young one has safely lurched upwards and been borne aloft by its first conscious act -using magic to lift itself skyward.